Double Beans And Mint Pilaf, Double Beans Briyani

          Happy Mother's Day to all, you lovely moms out there. Today's dish is a simple pulao/pilaf with Double Beans And Mint that I made sometime back. You can find the dry beans all year round, but we get the fresh ones, only during the season. We can make this pulao/briyani with either the fresh ones or the dry ones, except when using the dry ones, one extra step is there, soaking it overnight and pressure cooking, with the fresh ones, they can be cooked in a regular pan. We usually add mint leaves to briyanis, here, I have added a little more, so the pilaf/briyani has a nice mint flavor. If you are not able to find these beans, you can do it with other variety of beans like butter beans and rajma beans, or if none of them are available, you can use our good old green peas too. Serve it with a salad and raitha and some chips for a simple and delicious meal..

Need To Have

• Basmati Rice - 1 cup
• Mint Leaves - 1 cup + a handful
• Double Beans - 1 cup, heaped
• Cinnamon - 1" stick
• Cloves - 4
• Marathi Moggu - 1
• Green Cardamom - 3
• Cashews - 8, broken into pieces
• Onion - 1 medium, sliced
• Tomato - 1 medium, chopped
• Salt to taste

To Grind

• Green Chillies - 3
• Ginger - 1" piece
• Garlic - 5 cloves
• Small Onions/Shallots - 6 -7

Method

          If using dried beans, soak the previous night, pressure cook and keep, if using fresh double beans, then wash and cook them with a little water till soft, drain and keep, we can use the water later for cooking the pilaf.

          Coarsely grind all the ingredients given under ' to grind '.

          Heat some oil or oil and ghee mixture, add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and marathi moggu, when they start sizzling or jumping, add the cashews and saute till golden. Then add the onions and saute till they turn soft, then add the ground mixture and saute till raw smell goes away.

          Add the tomatoes and saute till they break down, then add the rice, double beans and the cup of mint leaves and mix everything together for another 2 minutes.

          Then add about 3 cups of water ( use the water we drained from the cooked beans ), salt, cover and cook. Once it starts boiling, cover and cook on low heat till the rice is done. Towards the end, when almost all the water is gone, sprinkle the handful of mint leaves and if using ghee, drizzle a little on top, cover and switch off. Leave it for at least 20 minutes, then remove and serve.

Check out here for more Pulao And Rice Varieties.

Note
Ghee gives a nice rich flavor, but if you prefer to keep it low in fat or vegan, then use only oil.
Don't disturb the rice when it's still very hot, if you try mixing it, then the rice breaks and the dish tends to become mushy, always let it cool down a bit before handling it.
You can do the Pilaf/Briyani in a rice cooker too, after mixing everything add it to the rice cooker along with water and cook.